Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站)

TSM is a research initiative dedicated to informing the public on cross-Strait security. Directed by GMU’s @MichaelHunzeker. Usual disclaimers.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

TSM's Han Kuang 42 Debrief, featuring visualizations and maps, is now live on The Monitor!

The exercise's live-fire phase, held Aug. 5–14, mobilized twice as many reserve brigades as last year and debuted an anti-decapitation drill that evacuated President Lai Ching-te to the Hengshan Command Post. It also marked the first exercise for the new Littoral Combat Command and the first deployment of M1A2T tanks to Taoyuan International Airport, though drone use remained limited despite expectations.

Read it (and more) here: https://t.co/2O8oHWwan2

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Five China Coast Guard vessels shadowed eight Japan Coast Guard ships southwest of Penghu's Qimei Island, outside Taiwan's contiguous zone, as the Japanese ships sheltered from Typhoon Champi on Oct. 22, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said.

The JCG group included the helicopter-carrying patrol vessels Reimei (PLH-33), Yashima (PLH-22), and Ryukyu (PLH-09), while the CCG deployed three 3,000-ton cutters and two 5,000-ton Daishan-class vessels. The CGA called on Beijing not to exploit the typhoon to create the false impression that the Taiwan Strait constitutes internal waters.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

The ROC Marine Corps 66th Brigade deployed two AAV7 amphibious assault vehicles and inflatable boats to the Su'ao Township Office in Yilan on Oct. 22 to support preventive evacuations as Typhoon Champi approached Taiwan, according to the Military News Agency. The Marines are on standby in coordination with the Yilan County Government's disaster preparations.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an has proposed closing Songshan Airport and redeveloping the site as an AI park. Songshan is one of 14 military and dual-use airfields Taiwan operates, and the only one in the capital.

About 59% of the airport's 213 hectares is military, and it hosts Air Force units, the National Airborne Service Corps, and executive transport aircraft for the president and senior officials. Minister of Defense Wellington Koo has said any move would require its functions to be replaced, and the National Security Bureau has said a suitable alternative near Taipei would be difficult to find.

Here is TSM's visualization of Taiwan's military air bases and airfields:

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

M1A2T crews from the ROCA 584th Combined Arms Brigade's 2nd Battalion conducted platoon-level live-fire training at the Kengzikou range in Hsinchu on Oct. 21 as part of the battalion's conversion to the tank from the CM11.

Tanks fired 120mm rounds in two-tank sections using bounding overwatch, then in four-tank platoon volleys, against stationary and moving targets, including while on the move.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan has received 275 of 460 new U.S. diesel engines for the ROCA's M60A3 tanks under a NT$7.245 billion (US$226 million) program, with the fifth batch of 70 arriving this month, according to the Liberty Times.

Some re-engined tanks have experienced abnormal gear shifting and delayed power output, which U.S. manufacturer technicians traced to the tanks' aging CD-850 transmissions. With the CD-850 out of production, the Army is weighing purchases from third countries holding the technical license or new stock sourced through U.S. firms, military sources said.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

The ROCAF has awarded a NT$997.2 million (US$30.63 million) contract for 18 U.S.-made 3,000-gallon airfield fire trucks to replace aging vehicles for which spare parts are no longer available, according to an Oct. 22 government procurement notice. Taiwanese firm Champion Auto, the sole bidder, is to deliver the trucks by May 31, 2028. The notice lists the trucks' origin as the U.S. but does not name the maker or model.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council and the PRC's Taiwan Affairs Office traded criticism on Oct. 21 over Taiwan's refusal to let Chinese actor Zhang Linghe enter the country.

The TAO accused Taipei of political maneuvering to block cross-Strait cultural exchanges. The MAC said Zhang had posted comments denigrating Taiwan's sovereignty, spoke at the Straits Forum, a PRC united front platform, and gave no clear reason for his visit, adding that Taiwan welcomes Chinese entertainers who do not take part in Beijing's campaign against its sovereignty.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration has recorded 10 China Coast Guard incursions into restricted waters around Kinmen and Dongsha between Sept. 1 and Oct. 20, six at Kinmen and four at Dongsha. The Kinmen incursions came on Sept. 8 (twice), Sept. 10 and 11, and Oct. 9 and 13.

At Dongsha, CCG ships entered on Sept. 7 and Oct. 17, 18 and 20, the last by CCG 3102 with its AIS switched off. The CGA also reported CCG patrols east of Taiwan on Sept. 3 and 29, between 74 and 146 NM off Green Island and Lanyu.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan and the U.S. state of Kansas have signed a memorandum of understanding on economic and trade cooperation covering aerospace, aviation, advanced air mobility, biomedicine, animal health, precision agriculture, and logistics, according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver.

Kansas Lieutenant Governor David Toland, who has visited Taiwan twice in the past year, called the agreement "the beginning of an even stronger partnership between Kansas and Taiwan."

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling said on Oct. 20 that the donation agreement for the retired CGA patrol vessel Kinmen bars the Philippines from using it to enforce laws against Taiwanese fishers.

The 500-ton vessel, transferred through the Philippine nonprofit We Protect Our Seas, entered Philippine Coast Guard service as BRP Sarangani on Oct. 2. Premier Cho Jung-tai said Manila had promised to limit the vessel's operating areas and enforcement targets so that its duties would not involve waters or fishers connected with Taiwan.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan's Army will conduct live-fire exercises in three sea areas around Dongyin in the Matsu Islands in November, according to the Naval Meteorological and Oceanographic Office.

The firing areas are active on Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, from 0800 to 2200 local time, with backup windows on the weekdays after each date. All three have 7 NM danger zones and airspace restrictions up to 6,000 ft.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

The PLAN carrier Liaoning (16) and three escorts transited between Okinawa and Miyako into the Pacific on Oct. 14, per Japan's Joint Staff. About 250 km south of Ishigaki, the carrier ran roughly 10 fighter and helicopter takeoffs and landings.

The group, which also includes Type 055 destroyers Anshan (103) and Wuxi (104) and Type 052DL destroyer Huainan (123), was confirmed heading for the South China Sea on Oct. 15.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, which is watching for a large-scale PLA exercise as the November-December drill season nears, said the deployment has put regional states on alert.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Seven PLAN vessels transited Japan's southwestern waters on Oct. 16–18, per Japan's Joint Staff.

Type 052DL destroyer Tangshan (122), Type 054A frigate Daqing (576) and Type 903A replenishment ship Taihu (889) sailed northeast about 220 km south of Miyako, then through the Okinawa–Miyako gap into the East China Sea.

Type 052D destroyer Qiqihar (121) and Type 901 combat support ship Hulunhu (901) went through Osumi Strait into the Pacific, as did Type 815A intelligence ship Yuhengxing (798).

A second intelligence ship, Kaiyangxing (796), headed south through the Okinawa–Miyako gap into the Pacific.

Below is TSM’s visualization of the PLAN’s activity around Japan:

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

Taiwan's MND detected 29 PLA aircraft around Taiwan on Oct. 20 during a Joint Combat Readiness Patrol (JCRP) and long-range flight, tying for the seventh-highest daily total of 2026 and the most since July 24.

Twenty-three entered the ADIZ, also the seventh-highest total of the year. MND named J-10, J-11, J-16 and JH-7 aircraft, H-6 bombers and KJ-500 early-warning aircraft, with some operating in the Western Pacific, the first H-6s MND has named since Sept. 17.

Nine official ships were also detected, tied for the fourth-highest count of 2026.

[國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 @MoNDefense]

29 sorties of PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 9 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 23 out of 29 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern part ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

China Coast Guard vessel CCG 3102 sailed into Dongsha's restricted waters with its AIS switched off on Oct. 20, according to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration.

The CGA vessel Taichung shadowed the ship and broadcast warnings in Chinese and English, while the CCG crew radioed that "the so-called Republic of China does not exist." The CGA said it has driven CCG ships out of Dongsha waters 12 times this year, involving 15 vessels.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

The PLAN carrier Liaoning (16) and three escorts transited between Okinawa and Miyako into the Pacific on Oct. 14, per Japan's Joint Staff. About 250 km south of Ishigaki, the carrier ran roughly 10 fighter and helicopter takeoffs and landings.

The group, which also includes Type 055 destroyers Anshan (103) and Wuxi (104) and Type 052DL destroyer Huainan (123), was confirmed heading for the South China Sea on Oct. 15.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, which is watching for a large-scale PLA exercise as the November-December drill season nears, said the deployment has put regional states on alert.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

A ROCA 564th Combined Arms Brigade CM11 tank struck a highway median in Miaoli on Oct. 16 during the brigade's long-distance move north for the Lu Sheng 2 exercise, in what the Eighth Army Corps said was a suspected brake failure. No one was injured.

Eighth Army Corps commander Lt. Gen. Liu Wei-hsin later praised troops for their response and called for a reasonable tolerance for mistakes in realistic training, saying commanders should replace blame with encouragement.

[Taiwan Security Monitor (台灣安全觀測站) @TaiwanMonitor]

The ROCA has issued a request for information on wheeled unmanned ground vehicles for casualty evacuation and medical resupply, according to the Liberty Times.

The Army is seeking 4x4, 6x6, or 8x8 UGVs with a payload of at least 250 kg and a range of up to 50 km, with protection against gunfire, fragments, and blasts, and navigation that continues under satellite jamming or spoofing. The Army said the effort is market research only, with quantity, budget, and timeline not yet set.